Kenya: Dad Kills His Three Children Then Himself

A 40-year-old man killed his three children before committing suicide yesterday morning at Busilwa Village in Kakamega County. Aggrey Shihemi who is a Jua Kali artisan also critically injured his wife Josephine 35, in the attack.

Villagers were coming to terms with the attack as it emerged that friends and relatives ignored signs that pointed to possibilities of the incident.

"He came back from the workshop at 2pm on Tuesday and started sharpening three knives and pangas which was unusual," said Rodgers Kabaka an employee at Shihemi's workshop.

"His wife saw a sharpened axe under their bed but nothing aroused her curiosity as to what purpose it was lying there," revealed his sister-in-law Dorcas Adhiambo.

Shihemi reportedly told his wife to slaughter chicken for supper and later went to bed without showing any signs that he was troubled only to turn on her at 2am with the axe.

He struck his wife severally with the axe which she blocked using her arms before stabbing her on the head while warning that he would kill her and the children.

She luckily freed herself and ran to the house of the attacker's elder brother who mobilized neighbors and police to accompany him to the ill-fated house.

"He locked the door immediately his wife escaped and when we knocked and there was no response, we broke in," said Jackson Alukwe his elder brother.

His body was dangling from the roof while those of his 12-year-old son Emmanuel, a standard 7 pupil at the nearby Kilimo Primary School and another son Brown Tuma (4) all bearing deep wounds on the head and neck lay lifeless in the adjacent room.

His 6-month-old baby girl Virginia Mugatsia succumbed to the wounds moments later at Mukumu Mission Hospital where she and her mother were being attended to.

Area police chief Ahmed Mohammed said the deceased left a suicide note indicating he was HIV -positive and did not want to continue living or leave his family to suffer.

The OCPD said police have launched investigations and will contact mobile phone service provider Safaricom to establish more details as he directed that more details be sought in his mobile phone.

His 68-year-old mother said her fourth-born son's health had started deteriorating in January and he had gone to the hospital on Monday this week where he got results that he had chest problems

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